The Five Scarves - Scarves Rivals Part 3
by RaceProUK
Summary: (Book 2 of 3, Part 3 of 5) The Brocks are not the only lineage with a long history within the Red Scarves, and Eun and Nari Kim never hesitate to remind Danny Brock of their family's greater glory. But when Danny stumbles across the Kims' shameful secret, Eun and Nari are forced to take drastic action…
1. Chapter 1

[3 years before the Brevon Incident]

Evening in the Red Scarves HQ mess hall, and an ochre badger sits alone in the corner, picking at his food. Occasionally, he looks over to the centre of the mess hall, where a small crowd of Scarves are celebrating the most recent success of a couple of teal polecats. After about ten minutes, a silver hare joins the badger and tucks eagerly into his own meal.

"I see the Kims have scored another moment of glory," the hare observes.

"Seriously Rob, do you have to rub it in?" the badger snaps.

"Easy Danny, I didn't mean anything by it," Rob apologises. "I thought you weren't bothered by glory anyway?"

"Sorry, it's just…" Danny sighs. "I know the Brocks have never been glory hounds-"

"Especially since you're all badgers," Rob quips.

"…but sometimes, I think it'd be nice to get a just a _little_ glory," Danny finishes.

"Yellow badger going green?" Rob teases.

Danny doesn't respond, instead fixing Rob with an unimpressed look.

"…you're actually serious about getting some glory?" Rob asks.

"Just once, I'd like people to celebrate _my_ achievements," Danny admits.

"Me and the girls always celebrate your achievements," Rob reminds.

"I know," Danny sighs. "But it's not the same, y'know?"

"I'm sure something will come along one day," Rob assures.

Danny shrugs. "Where are the girls anyway?"

"They're in Shuigang tonight, raiding a mansion for evidence against a businessman suspected of gunrunning for Shuigang rebels," Rob explains.

Danny looks over to the crowd again. "Oh great, they're coming over."

A moment later, the two teal polecats stop beside the table, the small crowd right behind them. "Not joining in the celebrations?" the male polecat asks.

"Go easy on him Eun," his twin sister adds. "It's not his fault our lineage is better than his."

Danny looks up from his food. "Eun. Nari. Another success I see."

"Of course," Eun confirms.

"You should join us, get a taste of what it feels like to be successful," Nari suggests.

"Unless you're happy being a loser," Eun adds.

"I'm flattered, but no thanks," Danny replies flatly, returning to his meal.

"Well, we tried," Nari shrugs.

"Come on, let's get back to celebrating being successful," Eun suggests.

"Sure," Nari agrees.

Once the polecats and the crowd have departed, Rob finally speaks. "One day, they'll fail, and their fall from grace will be spectacular."

"Maybe," Danny mumbles.

"Definitely," Rob assures.

"I wouldn't be so sure."

"Why?"

Danny pauses a moment. "You got a mission tonight?"

"No, I'm free."

"Library Archives in an hour." Danny stands and leaves the mess hall, his meal unfinished.


	2. Chapter 2

Just over an hour later, Rob enters the Red Scarves Library and immediately heads to the Archives section, where he finds Danny with two stacks of books, one three times the height of the other.

"Sorry I'm late," Rob greets quietly as he takes a seat beside his friend. "What're the books?"

Danny places a hand on the shorter stack of three volumes. "This is the chronicling of the entire Brock lineage," he explains. "Three volumes, covering every Brock from Harold, the very first Brock to be a Scarf, all the way through to my father Elias, and the start of my own entry. And this," he continues, placing a hand on the taller stack of ten volumes, "is the history of the Kims."

"That's quite a difference," Rob replies. "How much longer is the Kim lineage?"

"A single generation," Danny sighs. "They were involved in the founding of the Scarves; the first Brock joined seventeen years later."

"Then why is there so much more info on the Kims?" Rob asks.

Danny takes the second of the three Brock volumes and opens it to around the middle of the book. "These entries are typical of all three volumes on the Brocks," he explains. "As you can see, the entries are fairly short, dealing mostly in facts. There's very little describing the Brocks themselves, only what they did, and while what they did was vital Scarves work, it was mostly ignored or forgotten by the guild at large. Now, compare this to a typical Kim entry." Danny takes a volume from the taller pile, opening it around the middle, placing it on top of the open Brock volume. "As you can see, the entries are considerably longer," he explains, flicking through a few pages. "There's a lot more detail about not just the actions of the Kims, but also the personalities and accomplishments of each of them, alongside third-person accounts and all sorts of rubbish that doesn't matter, yet is still part of the historical record."

Rob takes a moment to marshal his thoughts. "This may sound a little… cruel, I guess, but that seems to me to be pretty typical of how history is recorded. People always find the spectacular and the glorious more interesting, and so they're the ones that get more attention. That doesn't mean that their achievements are any better, it just means people talk about them more."

"I know what you mean," Danny sighs, closing the books and returning them to their respective piles. "And I know my father taught me not to concern myself with glory and spectacle, just as his father taught him, and his father before that. But that was before I learned about the Kims."

"And now you're wondering whether your lineage, which you've been told all your life is a major part of Scarves history, actually matters at all," Rob guesses.

"Something like that," Danny confirms.

"Well, I can't claim to understand," Rob admits. "There is no Stiil lineage. Heck, before me, there were no Stiils at all, as you know. But it's clear that your lineage is very important to you, and you don't want to feel like it doesn't matter."

"That's… pretty much exactly right," Danny smiles weakly.

Rob stands and browses the nearby shelves. "Here's something to consider," he begins after a couple of minutes. "There's a lot of books here, chronicling the histories of all sorts of lineages, but I see very few lineages that have multiple volumes."

"So?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Not really."

Rob retakes his seat at the table. "If the importance of a lineage is measured by the amount of history documented right here, then the Brock lineage must be very important to have three whole volumes."

"The Kims have ten."

"And thousands of lineages have only one. And some don't even have that. And let's not forget, the Brock name carries a lot of respect around here, regardless of how tersely its history is recorded."

Danny ponders for a few moments. "Y'know, that does make me feel better. Thanks Rob."

"No problem," Rob smiles back. "Want to see something interesting?" he asks a moment later.

"Hm?"

Rob holds up a moderately slim volume with a familiar surname on the spine. "I found this book on the Skarlett lineage. I wonder if Hanna's ever seen this?"

"Isn't she an orphan?" Danny asks.

"Yeah," Rob confirms.

"Then it's likely pure coincidence," Danny concludes.

"I guess," Rob agrees. "Still, it's an interesting coincidence, especially with the _húlí_ symbol on the spine."


	3. Chapter 3

Five days later, mid-afternoon, and Danny is practising some hanbo techniques in the Red Scarves dojo. Halfway through one of the routines, he becomes aware of the presence of two people watching him. "Don't you have anything better to do?" he asks, continuing with his routine.

"Of course," Eun replies. "We're just taking a break."

"I have to admit, you're not bad," Nari adds. "Heck, if you keep working at it, you might actually be competent one day."

"Of course, you'd have to get rid of that ridiculous stick you insist on using and get some real weapons," Eun finishes.

"Staff weapons are a Brock tradition," Danny states flatly. "Just as butterfly swords are a Kim tradition."

"So you agree the Kims are better than the Brocks," Eun smirks.

"After all, we have the better traditions," Nari adds. "Oh, and we also have more glory, and have contributed far more to the Scarves than the Brocks ever will."

"Come on Nari, let's leave him to wave his stick about," Eun decides. "We'll go practice with our real weapons."

The Kims depart, leaving Danny to continue his solo practice. But his concentration is broken, and after a couple of minutes, he decides he's had enough, and leaves the dojo.

* * *

Two hours later, Danny is once again in the library, reading through the first volume of the history of his lineage, trying to find some form of solace amongst the pages. However, it's not working. With a sigh, Danny starts idly flicking through the pages, barely paying attention to the contents. About two‑thirds of the way through the book, he notices a picture of considerable interest. At first, he doesn't react, instead flicking through a few more pages. _Wait, what was that I just saw?_ Danny returns to the page with the picture he spotted, and takes a closer look. _Is that…_

His interest piqued, Danny locates the correct volume of the Kim lineage history, and tries to find the matching entry. However, his search proves unsuccessful. _Well, that's interesting. Something in the Brock history that has been omitted from the Kim history. Question is what, and why?_ Returning to the Brock book, Danny reads the entry that accompanies the picture carefully. _Hmm… not enough detail to be sure. That comes as no surprise, given how terse the Brock history entries are. Then again, there may be more detail elsewhere…_

* * *

An hour later, and with half a dozen books from as many lineage histories laid out open in front of him, Danny begins to reassemble the missing information. Slowly, piece by piece, it falls into place. And after half an hour of frantic scribbling and fact-checking, Danny finally completes the puzzle.

 _This is… it's unbelievable! How could the Kims do something so despicable?_ Suddenly aware of the magnitude of his discovery, Danny decides to leave the library as quickly as possible, heading straight to his room to hide his notes in the safest place he can find.

 _This information has to be released, but not yet. I need more evidence to be absolutely sure, and I need to make sure the info gets out without being attached to me if I can help it. There's no glory in shaming a lineage, after all…_


	4. Chapter 4

Unknown to Danny, as he is hiding his notes, Eun Kim enters the library and heads straight for the Archives, where he finds the books still laid open the way Danny left them. Curious, he looks over the entries laid bare. Slowly, a feeling of dread starts to build within him. _Someone's trying to reveal our secret…_ He then notices the Brock volume among the others. _Of all the people…_

"Are you OK?" a voice asks.

Eun looks up in surprise, relaxing when he sees the library attendant, a young shrew no older than fourteen. "Oh, sorry, yeah, I'm OK," he answers.

"You sure?" the shrew asks. "You seem a little… uneasy."

"It's fine, I just… it's been a rough day, s'all," Eun assures.

The shrew points to the books. "Are you using these?"

"These? No, they were left by whoever was here before."

"Then if you don't mind, I'll clear them out the way."

"Sure. I'm needed elsewhere anyway."

The shrew watches Eun hurry out of the Archives, then returns the books to the shelves. _That was odd…_

* * *

Ten minutes later, Eun finds Nari in the botanical gardens.

"Nari, we have a problem," Eun greets.

"And hello to you too," Nari replies flatly.

"I'm serious."

Nari notices the worry in her brother's eyes. "OK, you're serious. What's the problem?"

"Someone's worked out our family's secret," Eun reveals. "Or is at least very close to working it out."

Nari curses under her breath. "We'll have to plug the leak," she whispers. "Any idea who it was?"

"I'll give you one guess," Eun whispers back.

"Brock."

"Obviously."

Nari thinks for a moment. "We'll have to be careful about this. We need to find a way to silence him without it being traceable to us. Any ideas?"

Now it's Eun's turn to think for a moment. "Whatever we do, we can't do it within HQ: too great a risk of being caught. No, we have to do this out in the field."

"Which means we'll need to ambush him as he returns from a solo mission."

"Exactly. Can you find out if he has any lined up?"

"Sure can."

"Let me know as soon as you find out."

"Sure will."

"OK. Let's get out of here before we arouse any suspicions."

The Kims leave the gardens quickly and quietly.

The pair of auburn eyes hidden in the bush beside where the Kims were standing flash with anger. _No‑one is mean to my friends._


	5. Chapter 5

Late the following evening, Danny is on his way back to HQ from Shang Mu, another successful mission under his belt. Leaving the outskirts of the city, Danny soon finds himself deep in the nearby forest. Following a well-known path, Danny is surprised when he comes across a felled tree blocking the track. Slowing to a halt, he parks his bike and shuts it off. Dismounting, he quickly works out he can't move the tree unassisted, so he looks around for materials to build a ramp.

Suddenly, a shadow pounces Danny and clamps a damp rag over his mouth. Seconds later, Danny loses consciousness.

* * *

"Hey! Wake up already!"

Danny wakes with a start as the owner of the voice slaps him hard. It takes a few moments for his senses to begin making sense of the world, but he soon realises he is bound, gagged, and suspended upside‑down from a tree. Snapping to full alertness, he tries to free himself to no avail.

"I wouldn't waste your energy, badger boy," a second female voice suggests.

Danny stops struggling. _I know those voices…_ His vision clears enough for him to make out who his captors are: Eun and Nari Kim.

"I think he recognises us," Eun concludes.

"Then he knows why we're here," Nari adds.

Eun crouches in front of Danny and removes the gag. "What do you know?"

"Enough," Danny spits. "You won't get away with this."

"Actually, we will," Eun replies. "Now, where's the evidence?"

"Safe," Danny growls.

"He's not gonna tell, y'know," Nari concludes.

"He just needs some persuasion, s'all." Eun refits the gag, then stands and takes a step back.

"What sort of persuasion do you have in mind?" Nari asks.

"What else?" Eun takes out one of his butterfly swords and places the tip on Danny's navel.

Nari places a hand on Eun's, gently pushing the sword away. "I have a better idea: what if he just… went missing?"

"What if his friends come looking for him?" Eun asks.

A twig snaps nearby. The Kims turn around to see a silver hare, his sai drawn ready to fight.

"They'd find him," Rob Stiil answers.


	6. Chapter 6

"How cute," Nari mocks. "He thinks he's threatening."

"Coming alone is a mistake," Eun informs. "We'll do _anything_ to protect our secrets."

"Even if it means killing your fellow Scarves?" Rob asks.

"We wouldn't be the first," Nari growls.

"That doesn't surprise me," Rob replies.

"In that case, you should have brought something better than those stupid forks," Nari mocks.

"That's rich, coming from someone who uses weapons named after the most delicate of insects," Rob retorts.

"You'll regret insulting our honour," Nari snaps.

"Because kidnap and torture is _so_ honourable," Rob sneers sarcastically.

Nari's patience snaps. Drawing her butterfly swords, she charges directly at Rob, who raises his sai to catch Nari's furious downswings. Twisting the blades to the side, Rob plants his foot firmly in Nari's abdomen. Nari staggers backwards, a little winded. But within a few seconds, she recovers her composure, and attacks again, swinging one blade high and one blade low. Rob blocks them both, rolling under the polecat's swings to try and get a blow of his own in. But Nari is too agile: she leaps Rob's swipe at her legs.

Rob rolls into a crouch just in time to block Nari's swords again, catching the blades between the monouchi and yoku. He twists the blade to the side, tipping Nari off-balance. Nari allows herself to fall, landing and rolling away into a crouch.

"You're handy with those forks," Nari observes. "But can you hold us both off?"

Rob turns just in time to block Eun's charge, rolling backwards to exploit the polecat's momentum. A swift kick to the abdomen ensures Eun flies right over Rob, landing heavily on his back. But before Rob can recover, he is forced to roll to one side to avoid being sliced by Nari's swords.

Sensing the tide of battle has turned, Rob rolls onto his feet and sprints a short distance to buy some time. But it's not enough. Rob turns just in time to block Nari's fresh charge, but he doesn't have time to prepare. Nari's full momentum slams Rob hard onto his back, his sai skittering away in the dirt.

"Game over," Nari declares as she pins Rob, her swords laid crossed over his neck.

"I wouldn't be so quick to declare victory," Rob replies calmly.

"You have two blades ready to slice your head off, and your friend hangs helpless and at our mercy," Nari reminds. "You've lost, we've won."

"Because he came alone?" a new voice asks.

Surprised, Nari looks over her shoulder to see Eun frozen as if a statue, his swords by his feet. "Who's there?"

An olive lynx peeks out from behind Eun. "Hi!" Maria smiles cutely, waving with her free hand. "You can get off my friend now. Unless you want a cripple for a brother."

"You don't scare me," Nari hisses.

"That's OK," Maria shrugs. "It's not me you need to be scared of anyway."

Before Nari can respond, she feels a tight vice-like grip on her wrists. Wincing as she feels claws penetrate her flesh, she turns back to see an incandescent snarling vixen an inch from her face.

"Get off my boyfriend," Hanna growls.


	7. Chapter 7

Twenty minutes later, Eun and Nari sit back to back, tightly bound and immobile, being guarded by Hanna and Maria. Ten feet away, Rob is tending to the now free Danny.

"You OK?" Rob asks.

"Yeah," Danny assures, massaging his wrists. "A little rope burn, but that's all."

"Good," Rob sighs with relief. "So, what's going on?"

"I found something interesting about the Kims, and it seems they decided to silence me," Danny explains. "How did you know I needed help?"

"I was practising being a sneaky kitty in the gardens," Maria answers. "I was hiding in this bush when these two ickies started talking about being mean about you."

"Must you speak in that nauseating manner?" Nari snaps.

Hanna crouches in front of Nari and places the tips of her fingers either side of the polecat's face, blood‑stained claws fully extended. "Say that again, I _dare_ you," she growls.

Nari swallows hard and remains silent.

"Thought so," Hanna smiles wickedly as she stands.

"So, what's this big secret then?" Maria asks. "Must be something serious, otherwise all this is just silly."

"That's a good question," Danny asks. "What's this secret you were ready to kill me over?"

"We'll never tell," Eun states defiantly.

Silently, Hanna moves in front of Eun. Extending her claws again, she sinks them deep into the bases of Eun's ears. "I think you should tell us," she suggests in a calm tone that's somehow more menacing than her growling.

"OK, I'll tell!" Eun grimaces.

Hanna lets go of Eun's ears. "We're waiting."

Eun takes a deep breath. "It was about ninety years after the founding of the Scarves. Back then, the guild was still small enough that there was no formal command structure. Power laid with those who were the best, and at the time, that meant the Brock lineage outranked most, including the Kims."

"Let me guess," Hanna interrupts. "The Kims got really jealous of the Brocks, and did something that was meant to destroy the Brocks' standing."

"Worse than that," Eun admits.

"Don't tell them!" Nari insists.

Hanna moves to beside Nari and sinks her claws into the softest part of the polecat's shoulder. "Carry on Eun," Hanna instructs, extending her claws a little deeper at every sound Nari makes until she falls totally silent.

"Our ancestor attempted to wipe the Brocks out entirely," Eun reveals quietly. "Needless to say, the plan failed, although it did enough to ensure the Kims would eventually rise to power at the expense of the Brocks, who were destined to forever be on the verge of being forgotten. The event was omitted from the Kim history entirely in an attempt to cover it up, but not all traces of evidence could be expunged from the histories of the other lineages. Since then, we Kims have guarded this secret, silencing those who would leak it, knowing how much shame it would bring on our lineage."

"And just how many people have the Kims killed in order to keep their secret?" Rob asks.

Eun counts silently for a moment. "Twenty-seven."

"Even _I_ find that sickening," Hanna growls.

"And what would you know?" Nari forces through gritted teeth. "You're just a kid with no history."

"And yet she's far more honourable than you," a new voice replies from the shadows. "Even if she is currently turning your shoulder into a sieve."


	8. Chapter 8

"Do you want me to remove my claws, Leader Metharom?" Hanna asks.

"If it's not an inconvenience," Tracy Metharom replies, emerging from the shadows.

Hanna complies with Tracy's wishes and removes her claws from Nari's shoulder, cleaning them on the polecat's crop top before stepping to one side. Nari breathes deeply to shut out the pain, but she is helpless to stop the blood running down her arm.

"Now, what to do with you two," Tracy muses, walking up to the Kims. "An act like yours cannot go unpunished, after all. And I can get very creative with punishment, as the young couple here can attest."

"We have brought shame upon our lineage," Eun admits. "If we are to be ejected from the guild, then so be it."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Tracy decides. "You will both remain Scarves, but rest assured, I will make your punishment so complete that you'll wish you _had_ been ejected…"

* * *

Mid-morning the next day, and the four friends Hanna, Rob, Maria, and Danny sit on a bench at the edge of the main courtyard. Their chosen bench serves an excellent viewing point for what is in the centre of the courtyard: a transparent plastic cage divided in two, each half barely large enough for a single occupant. Eun and Nari occupy the two halves, dressed only in uncomfortable hemp sacks, forced to remain seated with their backs to each other by the compactness of their enclosure. Their wrists are anchored to the cage's divider by sturdy handcuffs, and above them both is a sign detailing the reason for their public incarceration.

At first, a crowd had gathered to laugh at the Kims, but it wasn't long before Leader Metharom encouraged the crowd to return to their daily duties. All, that is, except the four who had helped to expose the Kims' secret.

Danny breaks the relaxed silence. "I want to thank you guys again for saving me last night."

"You're our friend," Hanna replies. "Friends look out for each other. Anyway, it's Maria you want to thank. Without her stealthy eavesdropping, we wouldn't have known until it was too late."

"It's fun being a sneaky kitty," Maria blushes.

"We could have come up with a better plan though," Rob reveals. "One that didn't involve me having oversized scissors around my neck."

"You weren't in any danger," Hanna assures. "After all, I was there."

"I could have handled it," Rob replies, feigning hurt.

"If you say so," Hanna teases.

"In the end, what matters is we're all here, we're all healthy, and the Kims will never live down the disgrace being heaped on them," Danny summarises.

"Victory for the Fantastic Four!" Hanna declares.

"That name's silly!" Maria giggles.

"So, when are we celebrating this victory?" Rob asks.

"We're not," Danny declares.

"After all you said about wanting a bit of glory for once, you're turning down a perfect opportunity to get some?" Rob asks in surprise.

"I wouldn't call shaming a lineage glorious," Danny admits. "Also, I've now seen what the pursuit glory can do to people, and I don't want to make the same mistakes. So I shan't be seeking glory for this. In fact, I'd prefer to keep it quiet."

"Fair enough," Rob accepts. "We'll keep it quiet. Right girls?" Hanna and Maria nod in agreement.

"Thanks," Danny smiles. "Now, since we have the whole day off, what do we want to do?"

"Go swimming in Jade Creek," Maria answers almost immediately.

Hanna and Rob exchange amused looks. "Sure, why not?" they chorus.

"Yay!" Maria exclaims, leaping off the bench and sprinting towards the barracks, her friends following at a more leisurely pace.


End file.
